diff --git a/GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngineDevice/Source/W3DDevice/GameClient/BaseHeightMap.cpp b/GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngineDevice/Source/W3DDevice/GameClient/BaseHeightMap.cpp
index f61baf015bc..c21ad924202 100644
--- a/GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngineDevice/Source/W3DDevice/GameClient/BaseHeightMap.cpp
+++ b/GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngineDevice/Source/W3DDevice/GameClient/BaseHeightMap.cpp
@@ -2461,6 +2461,10 @@ void BaseHeightMapRenderObjClass::renderShoreLines(CameraClass *pCamera)
 	if (DX8Wrapper::getBackBufferFormat() != WW3D_FORMAT_A8R8G8B8)
 		return;	//can't apply effect on cards without destination alpha
 
+	// Safety check: ensure m_map is valid before dereferencing
+	if (!m_map)
+		return;
+
 	Int vertexCount = 0;
 	Int indexCount = 0;
 	Int drawEdgeY=m_map->getDrawOrgY()+m_map->getDrawHeight()-1;
@@ -2624,6 +2628,10 @@ void BaseHeightMapRenderObjClass::renderShoreLinesSorted(CameraClass *pCamera)
 	if (DX8Wrapper::getBackBufferFormat() != WW3D_FORMAT_A8R8G8B8)
 		return;	//can't apply effect on cards without destination alpha
 
+	// Safety check: ensure m_map is valid before dereferencing
+	if (!m_map)
+		return;
+
 	Int vertexCount = 0;
 	Int indexCount = 0;
 	Int drawEdgeY=m_map->getDrawOrgY()+m_map->getDrawHeight()-1;